weeds

The example given here is very appropriate. If a big lake is covered all around by long kusa grass, just like columns, the waters dry up. Similarly, when the big columns of material desire increase, the clear water of consciousness is dried up. Therefore these columns of kusa grass should be cut or thrown away from the very beginning. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has instructed that if from the very beginning we do not take care of unwanted grass in the paddy fields, the fertilizing agents or water will be used by them and the paddy plants will dry up. The material desire for sense enjoyment is the cause of our falldown in this material world, and thus we suffer the threefold miseries and continuous birth, death, old age and disease. However, if we turn our desires toward the transcendental loving service of the Lord, our desires become purified. We cannot kill desires. We have to purify them of different designations. If we constantly think of being a member of a particular nation, society or family and continuously think about them, we become very strongly entangled in the conditioned life of birth and death. But if our desires are applied to the service of the Lord, they become purified, and thus we become immediately freed from material contamination. (More...)

Another disturbing element is to aspire after material name and fame by discharging devotional service. If one is not particularly careful, then by the process of watering the plant of devotional service, other unnecessary plants, as described above, may grow, and that may hamper the progress of devotional service. The idea is that, by the watering process, these unnecessary plants grow very luxuriantly and the gardener does not see the impediments offered to the main plant of devotional service. It is the duty of the neophyte devotee to cut out all the unnecessary plants grown by the watering process. In other words, if one is careful against the growth of unnecessary plants, then the main plant grows luxuriantly and reaches the ultimate goal, the planet known as Goloka Vrindaban. To reach the ultimate goal, the Goloka Vrindaban planet, is the real result of devotional service, the real fruit grown of the plant of devotional service. When the living entity engaged in such devotional service relishes that fruit of love of Godhead, then he forgets all other ritualistic activities, religiousness for improvements in economic conditions, satisfaction of the senses, and the desire to become one with the Supreme Lord by merging into His effulgence. (More...)